Election of a new president of Tynwald will take place at the last Tynwald sitting before the general election.

Current president Laurence Skelly has announced that he is retiring from politics and will not seek re-election when his current term concludes on July 21.

Election of his successor will be first item of the July sitting in Douglas.

To be eligible, a candidate must be an MHK or an elected MLC - that can include but not the Attorney General or Bishop.

The election will be presided over by the Attorney General.

Names of the candidates will not be issued in advance by the Clerk of Tynwald’s Office.

Clerk of Tynwald Jonathan King explained that it will be the same process as electing members to a committee of Tynwald.

He said: ‘Candidates will be proposed and seconded from the floor.

‘Proposers and seconders may make brief speeches but there is no debate as such. Voting by ballot follows.

‘If necessary, the number of candidates can be gradually whittled down by a series of ballots.

‘Candidates are obliged to vote in the same way as any other member is.

‘To be successful, a candidate needs the support of a majority of members present and voting, with Tynwald voting as one body.’

The result will be announced there and then and the successful candidate will immediately preside over the rest of the July sitting.

Detail on who voted for whom will be published a short while later.

The successful candidate will get a five-year term concluding at the July sitting in Douglas in 2031.

They will be paid the same as the Speaker or a Minister, which is the MHK rate plus an uplift of 15%.

The office of President of Tynwald was created in 1990.

The holders have been Charles Kerruish, Noel Cringle, Clare Christian, Steve Rodan and Laurence Skelly.

All of these were previously MHKs except Clare Christian, who was previously an MLC.

Onchan MHK Julie Edge had tabled a motion to this month’s Tynwald sitting calling for the roles of Tynwald president and Speaker to restricted to two terms.

But the motion has since been removed from the register of business and omitted from the order paper on Ms Edge’s instruction.

She told Media IoM that she will be moving her motion to a later date.

Current deputy president is Rushen MHK Juan Watterson, who has had that role since 2016 and will have also served two terms as Speaker of the House of Keys.

In 2021, Mr Watterson stood against Mr Skelly for the president’s role but was defeated by 20 votes to 12, with one spoilt paper.

In 2016, then Speaker Steve Rodan was elected as president in a head to head with then Treasury Minister Eddie Teare, winning by 16 votes to 12. There were two spoilt papers.

Current deputy Speaker is Douglas Central MHK Ann Corlett.